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I appreciate the leads, but I looked up both henbit and crown vetch on Google images and neither of these look quite right.

When comparing against images of the crown vetch - what I saw had a simpler flower. I would say that the vetch flower looks very much like a clover - I guess they would call that compound or a multiple layered flower. What I saw was single. Also, the vetch appears to have compound leaves, whereas the plant I saw was more of a horizontal growing v each leaf coming straight off the stem of the vine.

Henbit looks even farther off. Are Henbit and crown vetch supposed to be the same plant? The pictures look very different.

I should add that the color of the flower that I saw does indeed match the color of the crown vetch.

Maybe what I saw was a simpler form? Maybe a wild form or something? the vetch appears to have pinnately compound leaves and that plant I saw did not appear to have complex leaves like this. I picked some, but did not attempt to identify it until a few days later and it is all shriveled up now. When I get home from work I will look at the shriveled bits more carefully.

I'm going to say that it is a vetch (Vicia sp.), but not crown vetch (Coronilla varia) which you can see is in a totally different genus of plants. There are over 150 different species of vetch. Some are native to only central/south Florida, while others are invasives that grow everywhere.

All in all, they are great plants for forage, nectar, and soil building. Cow vetch and hairy vetch are two really common ones.

If its really bugging and if its a native vetch, you go to this web site and enter vetch into the name search. Then, you work your way through the list. Most have photos.http://www.wildflower.org/plants/

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted. - Emerson

Plant ID - have you done an internet search?

Just a thought - a lot of state agricultural agencies have pretty knockout sites with searchable databases and pictures of plants that are common to the state. Some private colleges have them too. You might be able to google on the state name along with some other descriptors and hit the jackpot.

Do I understand that this plant is something you saw in California though you are more commonly located in Florida? Just trying to get where this plant is located straight.

Vinca minor is a common ground cover with low growing vines and single blue flowers - it is also called periwinkle. Pretty stuff even when it isn't in bloom. And talk about durable! It survives drought, flood, freeze, kids walking all over it, and escaped goats gnawing it to the ground.